Chapter 82
Rearward Evacuation
Ting!
A spent shell casing bounced across the cracked asphalt road.
Each time it happened, heavy recoil pressed into my collarbone, while acrid smoke drifted from the muzzle and flashed with an unstable glow.
Beyond the endless gunfire, countless monsters were dying.
Though compared to what I'd seen in Seoul, this was nothing special.
Amalgams made of fused human heads.
Devouring Spines that consisted of nothing but a skull and spinal column, sprinting forward on rib bones moving like centipede legs.
Here, I focused exclusively on the Devouring Spines.
The magic I used was Stage 1 Eyes, enhanced with Stage 1 Tongue.
Outside the fog, the backlash from magic was stronger, making the discomfort in my eyes and tongue the biggest issue.
Perhaps because we'd escaped Seoul and some of the tension had eased, my tongue throbbed painfully, while my eyes felt as though the moisture had completely dried up and my eyelids were scraping against them.
Still, it was far more manageable than it had been in Suwon.
Back then, the brightness had been so intense that tears poured from my eyes nonstop.
Now it merely felt like the soreness that came from being awake for twenty-four straight hours.
Maybe my magical attainment had increased enough that the backlash from lower-level spells had diminished slightly.
While I dealt with the Devouring Spines, Lee Sejun, Shin Nain, and Goryeoha each fulfilled their own roles.
A quick glance was enough to show how ridiculous they all were.
Lee Sejun handled firepower.
“Hmm. We're outside the fog, but they're still weak. Is it because they only came out recently?”
With his enhanced physical abilities, Lee Sejun practically possessed laser-guided marksmanship.
He simply overpowered recoil with brute strength, to the point that every bullet seemed magnetically drawn into an Amalgam's skull.
Considering he'd been a combat specialist sergeant during his military service, his already exceptional shooting skill had apparently combined with his enhanced physique to create something approaching a super soldier.
He wasn't just shooting ordinary rounds, either.
His magazines had been enchanted with Right Hand's Blood, a Stage 1 hand spell.
The destructive power was overwhelming.
Every time an enhanced bullet struck an Amalgam's head, entire chunks were torn away before it collapsed dead.
Watching that, I immediately felt something boiling inside me.
Meanwhile, Shin Nain handled support and communications.
“Mr. Jemin, the pastor, Hamza, and all the soldiers have safely withdrawn. Let's fall back slowly.”
“Got it.”
Shin Nain was the type who never lost track of his position amid chaos.
His ear magic was so specialized toward detection that his direct combat contribution lagged behind, but he'd compensated by becoming exceptionally creative in how he applied it.
Annoying as it was, Shin Nain was once again demonstrating that textbook-perfect nature of his.
While Lee Sejun and I poured out firepower, Shin Nain would calmly maintain a firing stance.
The moment either of us began reloading, he'd raise his rifle and target monsters beyond the bodies.
There was no helping it.
The Amalgams had learned to use their dead as bullet shields.
Personally, I believed that meant they were intelligent.
They'd learned not only how powerful firearms were, but also the limitations of the humans using them.
Because Amalgams hid behind the corpses of their own kind, humans had no choice but to fire extra rounds into bodies, anticipating additional monsters behind them.
That delay and suppression fire consumed ammunition far faster than expected.
And that was where Shin Nain truly shined.
While Lee Sejun and I unleashed constant fire, Shin Nain would patiently wait.
Then, the moment one of us reached for a fresh magazine—
He would pull the trigger without hesitation.
“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. By the authority of Almighty God and His dominion, I command the servants of Satan and his demons to be slain!”
Bang-bang-bang!
For all the absurdity of his loud prayers, Shin Nain was a natural-born ace.
Nine times out of ten, he hit his target.
The way he dealt with running monsters was practically an art form.
Of course, Shin Nain alone had limits.
That was when Goryeoha—who'd mostly been loafing around—blinked and rolled steel marbles between her fingers.
Goryeoha functioned as reserve power.
Like any mage who had survived Seoul, she possessed exceptional battlefield awareness.
Knowing her lethality lagged behind firearms, she'd obediently remained in the rear.
But there was one circumstance under which she would act.
Whenever our firing network looked close to being breached.
Then she'd either sweep monsters away with her Invisible Hand or launch heated steel marbles using Firewater Manipulation to eliminate anything that slipped through.
“Fire. Extreme Heat. Go.”
Boom!
Never in my life had I imagined I'd witness a ponytailed college girl in a black mask casually flick her fingers and shatter a Devouring Spine's skull.
Still, the greatest thing I gained was a clearer glimpse of Goryeoha's true nature.
While reloading, I'd stolen a glance.
After firing her heated steel marble, Goryeoha's eyes and expression were utterly indifferent.
Behind the friendly demeanor and cheerful smile lurked the mindset of a Seoul mage.
When Goryeoha killed monsters, she paid no attention to them whatsoever.
No anger.
No irritation.
No grief.
No sorrow.
She seemed to feel some indescribable emotion about escaping Seoul itself.
But toward the monsters?
Nothing.
Disturbingly enough, all of Goryeoha's attention and interest were directed solely at us—the Supreme Mages.
Even now, while monsters streamed out of the fog.
That was why she'd always felt unsettling.
I glanced at her while reloading.
She glanced at me while killing monsters.
Our eyes met in midair.
Only then did Goryeoha's colorless, expressionless face bloom into a faint pink-eyed smile.
“We've both been sizing each other up anyway, so there's nothing strange about it, right?”
At that moment, I felt a sense of crisis.
Not because of her strange fascination or obsession.
If something that trivial could make me feel threatened, I wouldn't aspire to become a great mage.
Lee Sejun.
Shin Nain.
Goryeoha.
All three of them were showing off impressive performances in front of the soldiers watching from the blockade line.
They were reducing the importance and presence of Baek Jemin—the man responsible for the Supreme part of Supreme Mage.
An absolutely unforgivable crime.
Absolutely.
Click.
After finishing my reload, I slowly rose to my feet.
Lee Sejun immediately shouted at me.
“Mr. Jemin! What are you doing taking more than four seconds to reload by yourself?!”
“Ahh... I really didn't want to reveal this in a place like this.”
“Mr. Jemin... please stop screwing around and start shooting!”
Was there any sound sweeter than Lee Sejun screaming?
Listening to the overlapping gunfire, I slowly raised my left hand.
It was time for the Left-Hand Magic Staff to shine once again.
“Watch carefully.”
Dropping to one knee, I slammed my left hand against the asphalt and shouted,
“And tell your grandchildren, your neighbors, and every relative you've got!”
Only my pain is precious in this world.
Therefore only my pain is absolute.
Only my pain is eternal.
“I SAW THE GREATEST GREAT MAGE IN KOREA!!!”
Directional Alteration-Type Eye Magic, Stage 2.
[Cognitive Distortion].
An unpleasant sensation washed through me, as though eyelids had sprouted directly inside my brain.
But it was noticeably weaker than before.
Previously, it had felt like eyelashes growing on those internal eyelids and scraping against every fold of my brain.
Now it merely felt as though closed eyelids were resting peacefully somewhere inside.
Then, in proportion to the sharp pain rising through my left hand, a suitable result appeared.
The monsters froze in place.
Only their eyes moved.
Like insects pinned in time itself.
As silent death descended upon them...
...all they could do was wait for death.
Lee Sejun and Shin Nain, already familiar with this phenomenon, moved immediately.
Bang-bang. Bang-bang-bang...
Another volley of gunfire echoed out.
Listening to it, I slowly closed my eyes.
Blink.
Only then did the monsters' screams reach my ears.
Soon afterward, flames began raining from the sky, scattering the fog for an instant.
Not enough to erase it entirely, but more than enough to make the monsters hiding within it suffer.
Seeing that, Shin Nain hummed a hymn before finally smiling.
“Looks like they've started deploying chemical shells.”
“Will that kill Amalgams and Devouring Spines?”
“They can't mutate into Blood Nets in this environment, and they're still using human bodies. They'll die. Let's go, Mr. Jemin.”
Shin Nain took a few steps back and yielded the lead position.
I was deeply moved.
Sure, he was a fanatical Christian who occupied a bathroom stall for thirty minutes at a time, but today, and only today, I'd remember him as Supreme Mage Shin Nain, my comrade.
Then Lee Sejun casually stepped in front of me.
“So we escaped after all, huh? Come on, everybody, let's go!”
“Ugh~. Mister, over here. Here.”
“Huh? What? Why am I in the back?”
Goryeoha's timely intervention dramatically altered Lee Sejun's fate.
Had she not grabbed his shoulder and pulled him behind me, the Five Supreme Mages would have become me, Shin Nain, Hamza, the pastor, and Goryeoha.
Unaware that he'd just narrowly avoided permanent expulsion, Lee Sejun merely tilted his head in confusion.
Still, he'd fought well today.
I'd forgive him this once.
After all, the happiest moment had finally arrived.
For today alone, I'd magnanimously pardon everyone.
Besides, after eleven days of living and dying together in Seoul, I owed my comrades at least a few words.
I let out a deep sigh inside my gas mask.
The characteristic breathing echoed across the asphalt.
Fwoooooosh...
“If you stand in front of me, I'll shoot you. Let's go.”
Clomp.
The sounds of military boots overlapped.
Behind us, countless artillery shells and missiles were creating a new hell.
Yet the only thing reaching us was the acrid wind fluttering the torn edges of our ponchos.
Huff. Huff.
The breathing from our gas masks sounded almost peaceful.
The measured breaths of veterans who had just defeated dozens—perhaps hundreds—of monsters.
As tension drained away and adrenaline faded, crushing exhaustion began creeping in.
But the sight of soldiers approaching from ahead made me forget it for a moment.
Click.
I absentmindedly fiddled with my rifle, letting the wind cool the overheated barrel.
At last, we came within sight of the machine-gun emplacements and trenches that formed the blockade line.
The soldiers manning them looked haggard.
Their eyes were bloodshot and intense.
They were enduring through a combination of psychoactive drugs, faith, and fear of death.
Their gazes turned toward us.
Eventually, after crossing the bridge completely and reaching the soldiers' position, we saw the pastor and Hamza waiting there.
The five Special Forces soldiers were there as well.
The reaction of the radio operator was particularly fascinating.
He repeatedly rubbed his camouflage-painted face with his left hand.
His lips opened and closed several times before he finally managed to speak.
Meanwhile, the pastor and Hamza simply sighed in relief beside him.
A moment later, the radio operator swallowed nervously and approached us.
Then he extended his hand politely.
“Aphorism. You're certainly different. Thinking of ordinary civilian operators... I owe you an apology for my earlier rudeness.”
“Not at all. Considering what kind of place Seoul is, it's natural you'd be on edge just from entering it. I understand.”
I gladly accepted his handshake.
Those who praised and admired me could make me forget even old grudges.
Those who insulted or criticized me could make me forget even my parents' kindness.
Thanks to my flexible personality, relations between the Supreme Mages and the soldiers would surely proceed smoothly from here.
The other soldiers painted with camouflage displayed similar reactions.
They seemed unable to put their feelings into words.
Perhaps comparing decades of military training with our actual combat contribution had left them conflicted.
The ordinary soldiers reacted differently.
While the Supreme Mages chatted briefly with the Special Forces troops, voices praising us reached my ears.
Being an Ear Mage had its advantages.
“They held them off with just four people...”
“Did they really stop all those monsters just now?”
“So civilian operators have tiers too. Holy shit.”
As the murmuring grew louder, someone who looked like an officer appeared and barked,
“That's enough! We've deployed chemical shells, so nothing's coming for a while. Artillery bombardment will resume shortly. Off-duty units rest! On-duty units maintain security!”
I wasn't the only one watching the soldiers.
Supreme Mage Shin Nain stood beside me, smiling with obvious satisfaction as he watched the soldiers steal glances at us and whisper among themselves.
He even removed his gas mask, revealing the grin he'd almost forgotten how to wear.
“Mr. Jemin. Aren't you excited for the echoes of the gospel that we crusaders shall spread?”
“Hehehehe...”
Of course I was excited, damn it.
I was planning to walk into a cafeteria wearing my ragged poncho, raise my scarred hands, and announce that a great mage had arrived.
Just then, someone slapped our shoulders.
“Shin Nain, Baek Jemin! Stop fooling around and get on already.”
“The vehicle's already here?”
“They came to pick us up. Let's move!”
Sure enough—
“It's a two-and-a-half-ton truck?”
I climbed aboard, but discomfort immediately crept up my spine.
That was when Hamza asked,
“Mr. Jemin, what would you rather ride than a truck?”
“A helicopter.”
“Like that's easy. I'm not getting in one anyway. God made people to live with their feet on the ground.”
Judging from the pastor's stubborn attitude, he'd have found a reason to refuse even if a helicopter had actually arrived.
A truck seemed preferable.
I nodded.
Five Special Forces soldiers.
Five Supreme Mages.
Plus Goryeoha from Aphorism.
Eleven people total.
Normally it should have been noisy.
But packed together in the rattling cargo compartment beneath a clear, low-risk sky for the first time in days, everyone gradually grew quiet.
Sleepiness crept over us.
“Grrrkkk...”
Lee Sejun was already asleep.
Shin Nain had his eyes closed in prayer.
For a moment, I wondered if he slept like that.
“I'm not sleeping, Mr. Jemin.”
“Stop reading minds.”
The pastor was fully asleep against the seatback, breathing heavily.
Goryeoha had removed her mask and was simply staring blankly at the scenery passing by.
Only then did it begin to sink in.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
And with that realization came a crushing weight throughout my body.
“Hey, soldier.”
“Yes?”
“This truck's headed to Suwon, right?”
“Yes. We're reinforcing the First Blockade Line and heading to the central stronghold of the Second Blockade Line.”
“I'm going to sleep.”
I lowered my head and closed my eyes.
Fighting off drowsiness.
Yet somewhere in the back of my mind, relief and regret tangled together.
Day 11 of the expedition.
The first Seoul reconnaissance mission had finally been completed.
“What time is it now?”
April 25, 2028.
“1:26 PM.”